RIYADH, Nov 11: Saudi Arabia went on the offensive on Tuesday after deploying thousands of troops to Makkah and Madina to protect Umra pilgrims, warning militants they will be crushed with an “iron fist”.

King Fahd warned overnight of “stiff retaliation” to the devastating suicide attack that killed 17 people at a Riyadh housing compound over the weekend.

The Saudi monarch vowed at a cabinet meeting: “The retaliation will be stiff”.

The kingdom “will act with an iron fist against all those who threaten the security of the country, its citizens and those who live there”.

The declaration came after a security source said at least 5,000 soldiers and police had been deployed in Makkah.

The decision to deploy extra forces to the holy city was reached after security forces smashed a suspected Al Qaeda cell last week and announced it had been preparing an attack on the faithful in Makkah, said the security source.

“In total there will be no fewer than 5,000 soldiers and police reinforcements in the Makkah region,” he said. Press reports said the security contingent had been doubled compared to previous years.

Adding to the difficulties, torrential rains have hit Makkah, with Tuesday’s newspapers reporting seven dead.

The authorities had said on Nov 3 they had foiled a plot to attack pilgrims in Makkah, where two “terrorists” were shot dead.

The alleged plot was said to have been hatched by fighters of the Al Qaeda who planned to kill Umra pilgrims during Ramazan.

In mid-June police carried out a series of raids on suspected militant hideouts in the holy city, killing five men and arresting 12 others, five of whom were wounded.

A large amount of weapons, ammunition and explosives was reported seized on both occasions.

The king also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, deploring the fact that “a group of criminal terrorists had committed their act during the month of Ramazan, the month of piety and forgiveness”.

His threat of retaliation appeared to leave little room for a mediation offer announced on Monday by a group of Saudi religious scholars.

“A group of learned men and Saudi clerics are now trying to set up a mechanism to launch a dialogue between the government and the youths who have carried out acts of violence, in an effort to halt the bloodshed,” Sheikh Abdullah Nasser al Sobeihi, one of the scholars, said.

“It’s a mediation to build a bridge between the two sides — the government and the wanted youths,” he said, noting however that the mediators had yet to offer their services to the government.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef said he was confident the Saudi government would not be destabilized.

“We will get to them, God willing, no matter how long it takes,” Prince Nayef pledged after inspecting the Al Muhaya residential compound devastated by the blast on Saturday night.

“This will be the job of all the sons of this homeland ... until we can rest assured that our country is free of devils and wicked people,” the prince said.—AFP